Notes / Commercial Description:
A porter with hints of chocolate & coffee balanced by subtle smokiness
First Release: December 1996

When first released, our smoky version of a traditional English porter was ahead of its time. Today, it's a highly regarded staple among craft beer fans and our go-to food complement, pairing effortlessly with all kinds of cuisine, from peanut butter and banana sandwiches to braised pork belly and apple pie. This worldly libation is dark, smooth and complex, with chocolate and coffee flavors suffused with subtle smokiness from the addition of peat-smoked malt.

Big fan of porters, and for the price thought this looked worth trying. Won't break this down much, just didn't like it. If I weren't looking at the bottle I wouldn't have guessed smoked at all. More hoppy than expected, dominated any nuance this beer might have had, and I never got the smoked taste I was hoping for. Had this with smoked ribs as many suggested, big disappointment, dumped it and opened a St. Arnolds. Pluses? Rich dark color.

On tap, poured into a snifter.
Appearance - dark, with a creamy white head. This looks like an after dinner drink, so I let this one sit. Lacing is decent.
Smell - French roast, maybe some espresso, s'mores!
Taste - made the right call to enjoy this after dinner! Complex, rich and flavorful; perhaps my new favorite for the style!
Feel - medium body, complex and bold flavors.
Overall - I'd like to have this again soon, as I may actually be underrating it a bit here.

big malt backbone on this. sweet but just stops short of too rich. some hop balance, a little espresso, mostly sweet though. not as smokey as one might expect, a chocolate flavored smoke, a bitter chocolate or coffee note that seems smokey while being mostly a sweet beer

Purchased from Sprouts in Poway CA. Darkish brown tobacco in apperance with a whiteish mocha head. Good lacing. Smells smokey, malty, faint hints of chocolate. Mouthfeel is smooth and somewhat creamy. Taste is malty, smokey, choclatey with the slighest bit of coffee mixed in. A very nice porter, prefer this over the Vanilla Bean version.

Appearance
Dark black with a slight copper hue and a light mocha head. Lots of lacing
Smell
Toasted malt, coffee beans and heavy smoke
Taste
Big, Smokey and powerful punch hits at first. Followed by roasted malt and a hint of chocolate. Medium heavy mouthfeel with a moderate sense of alcohol
Overall
I do like this one, it’s a power packed beer full of flavor, decently priced and a great beer to warm the bones on a winter’s eve.

Pours out a nice black color with hints of amber hues around its edges; it is topped off with a thick light tan head whose bubbles are tightly packed and form a nice layer of foam. The head sticks around and is surrounded by some awesome lacing, and has developed a small mound of larger bubbles towards the center.
Light roasted malts, caramel, chocolate and coffee bean come through. Some buttery aromas do come through from time to time.
The roasted malts are the first thing you’ll taste, some mild chocolate and caramel follow-no coffee yet. The aftertaste is bitter doesn’t distract from the flavor, and it lingers on for some time after you swallow.
The mouthfeel is medium to light-leaning more towards the light side of things.

Overall, this is a pretty good porter and I wouldn’t mind having several more of these.

I am early in my journey of fine craft beers and this is my first Smoked Porter. The appearance is what I expected it to be, dark and rich. The smell was a bit of a surprise as it was a little more floral than I expected, which I liked. The taste was great with no bitter bite or tongue swabbing after taste. Overall, I think this is a very good beer that I would recommend to someone who is scared of trying a porter for the first time.

Sampling right now on 1/9/14. Comes in a single large 22 ounce bottle with a neat painted on label (not a decal). Bottle chilled down to 36 degrees F in my beer cooler and poured into a pint glass.

Pours a very dark brown/black in color with a 2-finger thick off white head, BUT doesn't last a long time and settles down to a hin foamy head. LOTS of lacing was seen with each sip that stayed in place. The aroma is complex with a lot going on here. There is coffee, smoke, chocolate and roasted malt. The smokey malt hits your tongue right up front as well as espresso with a hint of chocolate. A slight bitter aftertaste with each sip. ***The more I drink this one the less I like it BUT I will leave my review as it is***

Poured a dark brown which was reddish with a black center when held to light. There was a half-finger tan head that receded to a tan ring leaving lacing down the glass. Quite nice, very on point for a porter. Scents of slight citrus peel, roasted malt, smoked malt, dark chocolate and black coffee. A very good porter aroma with a nice addition of smoke, very nice. Flavors of black coffee, roast malt, cocoa powder and slight smoked malt with slight caramel in the middle and finish. Bitter and roasted aftertaste. Very well done, true to style for a porter with just enough smoked character to add complexity. Mouthfeel is medium-light bodied with low carbonation and a creamy feel. Very good, very much a porter. Overall this is a good porter with a nice layer of complexity added to the aroma and flavor with the addition of smoked malt. Very good, recommended.

T- This was the first and last smoked porter I have tried. It reminded me of having a cigarette or snuff taste in my mouth. Definitely not one of my favorites from an awesome brewery.

M- Medium body with medium carbonation.

O- This is not my style of beer of at all. I love porters both american and imperial, but the smoked porters are not for me. I love smoked BBQ food. This beer reminded me more of a tobacco like flavor.

I really enjoyed this smoked porter. Reminds me of sitting with friends around a bonfire. It's very simple, and definitely a go to beer. Not to complex but very friendly to the senses! Poured very smooth. Light hints of bitter chocolate and dark coffee.

Pint bottle, poured into a traditional mug. Aroma of coffee and chocolate. Poured solid black. Nice light tan head, wavy lacing, and even thick geographic lacing that caked the inner walls of my mug, something I have never seen before. Noticed the smokyness at the nose, and strong flavors of dark chocolate, coffee just a twinge of a rasberry. Awesomely a nice blend of hop bitterness with malt sweetness, could not get over the smokyness. A medium or heavier mouth feel. Overall I was very impressed with this superbly executed porter.

Has a three finger head with a tan color that lasts for awhile. The smell is faint with smoked coffee and dark chocolate. The first taste that hits my tongue is the taste of smoked oak and roasted bitter coffee. There is hints of dried fruit and little dark chocolate. Overall I'm disappointed with this porter. It's not by any means bad but there are a lot better porters out there.

S - not getting too much off this...maybe a little coffee and chocolate...slight smoke.

T - much improvement since the nose. woody,bonfire,slight coffee and dark chocolate. mild bittering hops in the finish but diluted quick by rich malt and coffee like taste. bitterness slighhhtly sticks around but barely. maybe some dark fruit as well.

M - id give this a medium mouthfeel...lightly carbonated. ive had several ipas and dipas that are a lot creamier than this...you wouldnt guess this by the look of this beer.

Overall...this is a sipper and just try to enjoy it.... the smokyness is a really cool part of this beer and stone did it well...(yet again). get around a bonfire with a few friends and split a bomber. good and easy drinking.

Appearance: When it poured I thought it would be transparent/translucent light brown, but ended up much darker, couldn't even tell if it was black or brown once it was in the glass. Two-inch tan foam head, had to wait a bit to top off my pint glass.

Smell: Didn't get much out of the smell, not the strong coffee notes you might get from a porter. Definitely picked up the smokiness, but aroma was not as strong as I expected.

Taste: While there was not much smell in my opinion, there is a lot of flavor. Hard to articulate the flavors because the smokiness is noticeable (in a good way), but pick up some of those coffee, chocolate and malt flavors you'd expect.

Mouthfeel: Pretty carbonated for such a heavy beer, but has a smoothness/creaminess to it. Good balance overall.

Overall: Good job bringing the smokiness in without completely dominating the beer. I've had smoked beers before that just tasted burnt and that wasn't the case here. I did not find this beer overly complex though. Good for the style and interesting but would have liked more noticeable hints of other flavors.

A - Pours a used motor oil black that goes to dark ruby when held to the light. Not much in the way of carbonation rising to the rocky, tan, three finger head. Head stays intact as a creamy cap all the way down the glass. Leaves behind several large splotches of lacing.

T - Smoked chocolate malt and coffee grounds upfront. The body is light and moderately sweet with chocolate milk, slight dark fruit and a hint of caramel. Hop bitterness and candied plum dominate as the beer passes over the back of the tongue before a bitter chocolate, plum and black licorice finish.

M - Medium bodied with just enough carbonation to the give beer a rich, creamy body that still seems somewhat light on the tongue - like chocolate mouse. This is one of the best mouth feels I've had in a porter.

Picked a beer out of my collection to pair with my steak and to later review for my 26th birthday - this was a fantastic choice. Stone Smoked Porter does everything very well and the flavor and mouthfeel are phenomenal. This beer isn't a heavy or super rich beer like an imperial stout, rather is the signature chocolate moose of beers with a delicious yet complex flavor profile and a light, creamy mouthfeel. I could drink this beer all night, and am quite disheartened that I've finished off the bomber. Probably one of my all-time favorites, I better get this again!